Over 26 pilgrims die in this year's Amarnath Yatra; most due to cardiac arrest

SRINAGAR: A rock glided down the hill to kill a woman devotee heading towards Amarnath temple in Srinagar on Sunday. Gujarat native Urmila Ben was trudging the hilly terrain of the Kashmir Himalayas when a boulder came running down due to the rain. Two J and K cops showed sheer valiance to help Urmila Ben but were attacked similarly by the violent flowing rocks. The cops got critically injured and are now undergoing treatment. After the incident of Urmila Ben, the total death tally during this year's Amarnath yatra has turned 26.

In the last four days, five pilgrims undertaking the Amarnath yatra died due to various reasons. 65-year-old Meghnath from Chhattisgarh felt nauseous during the journey and headed back to the clinic, only to fall unconscious on the doorsteps and later die. Many others are feeling unconscious during the enduring steps taken to reach the high-altitude terrains of the Himalayas. Most of the deaths are caused due to cardiac arrest.

The oxygen-deprived environment of Kashmir Himalayas poses a challenge but the pilgrims are least deterred about the consequences and are turning up in large numbers for the yatra. The annual pilgrim will end on August 31. So far 1,62,569 pilgrims have completed the journey to Amarnath.